Virgil van Dijk and Andre Onana were involved in an interaction that highlighted the moods in both dressing rooms after Liverpool and Manchester United played out a 0-0 draw on Sunday. United held the hosts at Anfield on a day when they were expected to suffer a heavy defeat.
Nine months ago, Erik ten Hag oversaw that 7-0 defeat on Merseyside, one of the darkest days in the Red Devils’ Premier League history.
Many expected a similar outcome this weekend, given Jurgen Klopp’s side are challenging for the title again, and Ten Hag is under mounting pressure and suffering from mounting injury issues.
However, United produced a resilient defensive performance to keep a clean sheet and silence the biggest Anfield crowd in a century.
Van Dijk cut a frustrated figure after the game and in his post-match press conference, and he reportedly displayed that annoyance away from the cameras.
According to talkSPORT, Van Dijk, frustrated by the visitors’ game plan, confronted Onana in the tunnel after full-time.
The Dutch defender was claimed to have jibed: “Because of you, we only played a half-hour game.” Onana reportedly smiled in response to the jab.
Click here to join our WhatsApp community to be the first to receive breaking and exclusive Man Utd news.
Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the clash, Van Dijk bemoaned the outcome and claimed that only one team wanted to take three points.
“100 per cent [frustration]. If you see how we played the game, we had most of the ball, created the most opportunities, and there was only one team that was trying to win the game, and unfortunately, that didn’t happen,” Van Dijk said.
He added: “They’re not in the best phase right now, so coming here, you’re wary of the threat we have.
“But we should’ve won it today, and that’s the disappointing thing. We can’t dwell on it, though. We have big games coming up.”